Presentation for 213A, Winter 2013

Geometric group theory

Andreas Ns Aaserud
Department of Mathematics,
UCLA

11 March 2013

Outline

Introduction

Outline

Introduction

Fundamental observation

Outline

Introduction

Fundamental observation

Gromovs criterion

Geometric group theory

We will give an overview of the area of group theory known as
geometric group theory, where one studies large scale or
coarse properties of finitely generated (f.g.) groups.
To make this precise, we need to view such a group as a metric
space and to introduce some notions from the theory of metric
spaces. First things first:

Definition
Let be a finitely generated (f.g.) group and fix a finite symmetric
generating set S (i.e., s 1 S whenever s S). Then we can
define a metric dS on by setting dS (g , h) = kh1 g kS , where
k kS denotes the word-length with respect to S, i.e., the number
of factors in a reduced decomposition.

Examples

Note: We may think of the metric space (, dS ) as the Cayley

graph of (, S) equipped with the graph-metric. This helps us
visualize (, dS ).
Examples:
I

(Zn , {e1 , . . . , en });

(Z, {2, 3});

(F2 , {a1 , b 1 });

The modular group: Z/2 Z/3;

(See pp. 78-81 of Pierre de la Harpes book Topics in Geometric

Groups Theory for pretty pictures.)

Quasi-isometries
Definition
Let (X , d) and (Y , d 0 ) be metric spaces. Given constants 1
and C > 0, a (, C )-quasi-isometric embedding of X into Y is a
map f : X Y with the property that
1
d(x1 , x2 ) C d 0 (f (x1 ), f (x2 )) d(x1 , x2 ) + C

for all x1 , x2 X . If moreover every y Y is within C of f (X ),

then we call f a (, C )-quasi-isometry.
A quasi-isometric embedding (resp. quasi-isometry) is a map
f : X Y that is a (, C )-quasi-isometric embedding (resp. a
(, C )-quasi-isometry) for some constants C > 0, 1.
If there exists a quasi-isometry as above, then we say that (X , d)
and (Y , d 0 ) are quasi-isometric.

Groups as coarse spaces

We want to be able to say that a f.g. group is quasi-isometric to
a metric space (and, in particular, to another f.g. group). For this
to make sense, we need the following proposition:

Proposition
Let S and S 0 be two finite symmetric generating sets for a group .
Then (, dS ) and (, dS 0 ) are quasi-isometric.

Proof.
We claim that the identity map is a quasi-isometry. Indeed, let C
be the largest S 0 -word-length of an element in S, and C 0 the largest
S-word-length of an element in S 0 . Then dS (, 1) C 0 dS 0 (, 1)
and dS 0 (, 1) CdS (, 1) for all . As dS and dS 0 are invariant
under left-multiplication, this completes the proof.

First examples of (non-)quasi-isometric groups

Examples: 1. Any finite group is quasi-isometric to {1}.

2. We show that Z is not quasi-isometric to Z2 . (The proof is

analogous to the proof that R is not homeomorphic to R2 .)
I

Let f : Z2 Z be a (, C )-quasi-isometric embedding.

There is a constant k N such that

d(f (u1 ), f (u2 )) < k whenever u1 and u2 are adjacent.

Consider the finite set B = f 1 ({1, 2, . . . , k}).

Choose u, v Z2 such that f (u) < 1 and f (v ) > k and let

u = u1 , u2 , . . . , un = v be a path in Z2 that avoids B.

Then f (uj ) < 1 for all j, a contradiction.

Geometric properties
Now, we may define a geometric property of a f.g. group G to be a
property (P) that only depends on the quasi-isometry-class of G .
Examples: The following properties are geometric.
(i) Growth rate (polynomial of degree d; intermediate;
exponential);
(ii) Hyperbolicity;
(iii) Number of ends;
(iv) Amenability;
(v) Being virtually free;
(vi) Being virtually free abelian;
(vii) Being virtually nilpotent (= having polynomial growth by a
deep theorem due to M. Gromov);
(viii) Being virtually infinite cyclic;
(ix) Being finitely presented.

Non-geometric properties
Counterexamples: The following properties are not geometric.
(Below, we say that two groups are commensurable if they have
isomorphic subgroups of finite index.)
(i) Being commensurable with a solvable group;
(ii) The sign of the Euler-Poincare characteristic;
(iii) Being commensurable with a simple group;
(iv) Being commensurable with a group which has a non-abelian
free quotient.
Open problems: It is not known whether the following properties
are geometric.
(i) Property (T);
(ii) Being virtually polycyclic.

Fundamental observation
Definition
Let be an action of the group G on the topological space X .
I

is proper if {g G | g K K 6= } is finite for every

compact set K X ;

is cocompact if the orbit space X /G is compact.

Definition
Let X be a metric space. Then
I

X is proper if all closed balls in X are compact;

X is geodesic if, given x, y X , there exists a geodesic

segment from x to y , i.e., an isometry L : [0, d(x, y )] X
such that L(0) = x and L(d(x, y )) = y .

Note: In this context it is convenient to identify a f.g. group G

with the metric space obtained by embedding [0, 1] isometrically
along each edge of a Cayley graph of G .

The following result is an important tool for showing that various

f.g. groups and metric spaces are quasi-isometric.

Theorem (Fundamental observation of geometric group

theory; Efremovich 53, Svarc

55, Milnor 68)
Let be a group with a proper cocompact left action on a proper
geodesic metric space by isometries. Then is f.g. and the map
3 7 x0 X is a quasi-isometry for every x0 X .
Proof.
I

Define metric d on X / by
d(x, y ) = inf{d(x 0 , y 0 ) | x 0 x, y 0 y }.
It is positive-definite because X is proper.

X / is a compact metric space, hence bounded. Put

R = diam(X /).

Fix a base point x0 X and put B = {x X | d(x, x0 ) R}.

As X is proper, {B} is a covering of X .

Consider the finite set S = {s | s 6= 1, sB B 6= }.

Put r = inf{d(B, B) :
/ S {1}} > 0.

S generates :
I

Let \ (S {1}). As d(x0 , x0 ) R, there exists a

unique positive integer k such that
R + (k 1)r d(x0 , x0 ) < R + kr .
By choosing a geodesic path from x0 to x0 , we find elements
x0 , x1 , . . . , xk+1 = x0 X such that d(x0 , x1 ) < R and
d(xi , xi+1 ) < r for i = 1, . . . , k.

As X = B, there are 1 = 0 , 1 , . . . , k = such that

xi i1 B, i = 1, . . . , k. Then = s1 sk , where
1
si = i1
i satisfies d(B, si B) < r , and kkS k.

Define a map f : X by f () = x0 .

The map f is a quasi-isometry:

I

Let x X so that x = x 0 for some and x 0 B. Then

d(f (), x) R.

Given 1 , 2 and applying the previous slide with

= 21 1 , we have
d((1 ), (2 )) = d(x0 , x0 ) R + (k 1)r
R + (kkS 1)r = (R r ) + dS (1 , 2 )r .

By induction on kkS , we get that

d((1 ), (2 )) = d(x0 , x0 ) dS (1 , 2 ),
where = max{d(sx0 , x0 ) | s S}.

This completes the proof.

Examples: 1. Zn acts on Rn by translation. Hence these two

metric spaces are quasi-isometric.
2. Let G be a f.g. group with a finite index subgroup H. Then H
acts on (the Cayley graph of) G by left-translation. Thus H is f.g.
and is quasi-isometric to G . In particular, the groups Fn (for each
n = 2, 3, . . .), PSL2 (Z) = Z/2 Z/3, and SL2 (Z) = Z/4 Z/2 Z/6
are all quasi-isometric.
3. Let 0 A B C 0 be a short exact sequence of groups,
where A is finite and C is f.g. Then B acts on (the Cayley graph
of) C by left-translation. As the pre-image of every c C is finite,
this action is proper. Thus B is f.g. and is quasi-isometric to C .
4. Let be the fundamental group of a compact Riemannian
manifold Y . Then acts on the universal cover of Y . Hence is
f.g. and is quasi-isometric to the universal cover of Y .

Gromovs criterion
We will next prove a topological criterion for quasi-isometry of f.g.
groups due to M. Gromov.

Lemma
Let be a f.g. group. Then is quasi-isometric to the opposite
group op .
We leave the easy proof of the lemma to the viewer.

Theorem (Gromov 93)

Let and be f.g. groups. They are quasi-isometric if and only if
there exist commuting proper cocompact (left or right) actions of
and on some locally compact Hausdorff topological space X
by homeomorphisms.

Proof.
1 only if: Assume first that there exists a (, C )-quasi-isometry
and let X be the set consisting of such maps.
I

Equip X with the topology of pointwise convergence. Then X

is a locally compact Hausdorff topological space. Indeed, given
0 X , =
6 F finite and k > 0, the neighborhood
V = { X | x F : d(0 (x), (x)) k}
of 0 is compact by the Arzela-Ascoli theorem.

Define a left action of on X and a right action of on X by

()(x) = 1 ( 1 x).

These actions are proper and the orbit spaces X / and \X ,

with the quotient topologies, are compact.

2 if: Assume that we have two commuting right actions, but

write the action of on the left.

Given hSi = , construct suitable generating set for :

I

Choose a compact set K X such that K = X / and

K = \X . (That is, each orbit intersects K .)

Let s S. As sK is compact, sK tTs Kt for some finite

set Ts .

Put TI = sS Ts and TII = { | K K 6= }. Then

T = TI TII generates by the choice of K .

Define a quasi-isometry and an inverse map:

I

Fix a point x0 K . Then, given , there is such

that x0 K . Define : by setting () = 1 .

Given 1 , 2 , we have dT ((1 ), (2 )) 2dS (1 , 2 ).

Analogously, construct a finite generating set S 0 for from T

and define : .

Then dS 0 ((1 ), (2 )) 2dT (1 , 2 ), dT (, ()) 1 and

dS 0 (, ()) 1. It follows that is a quasi-isometry.


Reference

Pierre de la Harpe.
Topics in Geometric Group Theory.
Chicago Lectures in Mathematics, Chicago and London, 2000.